Anonymizing, Iraq Crisis, and Is Afghanistan Next? – Daily Intelligence

Headlines & Farwell Charles Barsotti

FROM THE DESK OF CLEARANCEJOBS.COM

1. Hiring—qualified to be cleared. Contributor Jillian Hamilton explains, “If you are recruiting candidates that have all the skills but lack the credibility to obtain the necessary clearances, then it may be time to look at your cleared recruiting process. . . . But how do you know if a candidate can obtain a clearance? The system may be beyond your control, but your hiring procedures aren’t. Here are some tips for selecting a candidate that can get through the security clearance process.”

2. Hiring—employee referrals. Contributor Jillian Hamilton’s High Five: “It is a tricky business setting up a successful employee referral program (ERP). Success depends on buy-in from three parties: management, employees, and recruiters. Rather than take away from the recruiters job (and commission), a successful ERP can free up time to spend on filling the remaining positions with better quality candidates. . . . Here are five things to consider if you want to start or revamp your ERP . . . .”

THE FORCE AND THE FIGHT

1. Taliban’s Torkham attack. Reuters’ reports from Kabul, “Four Taliban militants struck a NATO post in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar on Thursday, destroying dozens of trucks and sparking a gun battle with polices [sic] . . . . The attack took place in the parking compound of a NATO base near the Torkham crossing on the Pakistani border, near the Khyber Pass and a main supply route for NATO-led forces in land-locked Afghanistan.” See also from Khaama.Com, “Suicide bombers attack NATO vehicle parking plot in Torkham.”

2. ISIS wins refinery. AP’s Sameer N. Yacoub and Qassim Abdul-Zahra report from Baghdad, “Sunni militants have hung their black banners on watch towers at Iraq’s largest oil refinery, a witness said Thursday, suggesting the vital facility had fallen to the insurgents in control of vast territories across the country’s north. . . . The fighting at Beiji, some 250 kilometers (155 miles) north of Baghdad, comes as Iraq has asked the U.S. to launch airstrikes targeting militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.” See also from Aljazeera.Com, “Iraq asks US for air strikes on ISIL rebels” Christian Science Monitor’s “President Obama weighs ‘do nothing’ option in Iraq,” AFPS’ “Possible Iraq Action Requires Clearer Picture, DOD Leaders Say,” and, finally, DefenseNews.Com’s “Pentagon Leaders Blast Maliki Government.”

3. Afghanistan next? AP’s Donna Cassata reports from Washington, “The deteriorating situation in Iraq is giving Congress pause about President Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, with fears that hard-fought gains could be wiped out by a resurgent Taliban. Senior Obama administration officials insist Afghanistan is not Iraq . . . .”

4. Bergdahl—“ridiculous charge.” Washington Post’s Thomas Gibson-Neff reports, “An Army veteran who served alongside Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl in Afghanistan said Wednesday that the long-captive soldier was deeply frustrated with the mission and had lodged false allegations that their unit had carried out atrocities.”

CONTRACT WATCH

1. VA’s new patient-scheduling contract. NextGov.Com’s Bob Brewin reports, “Top Veterans Affairs Department officials anticipate VA will award a contract for a new patient-scheduling system by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, but procurement documents show a lengthy transition process from the old to new system. . . . vendors will have a chance to pitch and demonstrate their commercial scheduling applications at meetings from June 30 to July 2.”

2. GSA—contracting HR. FederalTimes.Com’s Andy Medici reports, “The General Services Administration is looking for industry input on its plan to craft a contract to provide human resource training and other HR solutions. GSA and the Office of Personnel Management PM signed a memorandum of understanding on April 28 to partner on a joint strategic sourcing contract to offer agencies looking to train HR professionals. While the exact size and type of contract have not been finalized, the agencies agreed to transition from OPM’s current Training and Management Assistance contract by the second quarter of fiscal 2015. OPM canceled a $2 billion solicitation for a replacement contract on Feb. 7, more than a year into the process.”

TECH, PRIVACY, & SECRECY

1. Anonymizing. Wired.Com’s Andy Greenberg explains, “Though it’s hardly the sole means of achieving online anonymity, the software known as Tor has become the most vouchsafed and developer-friendly method for using the Internet incognito. The free and open source program triple-encrypts your traffic and bounces it through computers around the globe, making tracing it vastly more difficult.”

2. $2.5 billion—geospatial spending skyrocketing to 2018. MilitaryAerospace.Com Editor John Keller reports, “U.S. military spending for geospatial technologies will reach $2.43 billion in 2018 . . . . Geospatial technologies involve tools and techniques for land surveying, remote sensing, cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), satellite navigation, photogrammetry, geography and related forms of Earth mapping. . . . The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is capitalizing innovations in geospatial technologies to ensure commanders at every level have a deeper understanding of evolving operational environments. . . . Rapid progress in geospatial technologies have come from advances and blending of computers and software technologies with airborne and space observation remote sensing.”

3. Robots in charge. Wired.Com’s Jordon Golson reports, “Audi is building a fleet of rolling robots that will allow technicians at its headquarters to remotely supervise mechanics at dealerships. It may be a great way to improve customer service, a testament to just how complicated upscale German cars are to repair, or just an overbearing way to play nanny. . . . The remote technician uses a computer or tablet to drive the robot around the service bay, directing the camera and borescope and using a speakerphone to help diagnose and repair difficult problems. Audi claims the robot mechanic will ‘improve speed and accuracy’ of service and create ‘an improved ownership experience for the customer.’”

POTOMAC TWO-STEP

1. Now we’re in trouble: “Americans now view President Obama as less competent than George W. Bush at the same point in his presidency, according to a new poll. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey found that just half of all respondents consider Obama to be competent, even lower than those polled in the wake of Bush’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina. And 54 percent said Obama is no longer able ‘to lead the country and get the job done.’ More than 40 percent of respondents believe the administration’s performance has gotten worse in the past year. Though Obama’s overall approval ratings remain unchanged—41 percent—Americans are souring on his handling of foreign affairs amid heightened turmoil in Iraq.”

2. Say it isn’t so, Joe: “This is Joe Biden’s reality after nearly four decades in the Senate, countless fundraisers for his party and endless ego-massaging of his colleagues: Not a single Democratic senator, including the two from his home state, are publicly urging him to run for president. And this is Hillary Clinton’s lot: A majority of current Democratic senators are calling on her to run in 2016, years before the election and months before she’s expected to even make up her mind whether to seek the White House again. That despite the fact that her eight years in the Senate ended with more than a dozen colleagues spurning her presidential campaign in favor of a younger upstart senator from Illinois.”

OPINIONS EVERYONE HAS

1. “Iraq Isn’t Ours to Save: A hawk’s case for caution.” The Atlantic contributor David Frum argues, “U.S. intervention to defend its interests and support its friends remains essential. But the government in Baghdad is not an American friend, and action against ISIS will not advance U.S. interests.”

2. “The Collapsing Obama Doctrine.” Wall Street Journal contributors Dick and Liz Cheney argue, “Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many.”

3. “Democracy is on the ropes.” Reuters’ contributor Nicholas Wapshott argues, “If the United States abandons democracy in the rest of the world, not only is the rest of the world sunk but tyranny will soon be heading our way as voting laws here become more restrictive.”